Ashley Marie "AzMarie" Livingston (born December 28, 1986) is an American fashion model, actress, singer and DJ who rose to fame after appearing on '' America's Next Top Model: British Invasion'' in 2012. Livingston was cast to play the role of Chicken on the Fox show ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

''.

Early life

Livingston was born Ashley Marie Livingston in California's

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. According to Livingston, the name "AzMarie" is an

amalgam Amalgam most commonly refers to: * Amalgam (chemistry), mercury alloy * Amalgam (dentistry), material of silver tooth fillings ** Bonded amalgam, used in dentistry Amalgam may also refer to: * Amalgam Comics, a publisher * Amalgam Digital, an in ...

of her first and middle names, and she took the "Az". Livingston was raised primarily by her

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

. Her father is gay, and Livingston describes the relationship between her parents as them being "best friends". She came out to him first as a lesbian, with her father being immediately accepting because of his own orientation; her mother taking more time, with initial disappointment. Now her mother is a strong supporter of her career. Livingston says she was bullied growing up over her

androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

. As a young child, she moved to the

area, where she later attended

Nicolet High School Nicolet High School is a public secondary school located in Glendale, Wisconsin. It is the only school in the Nicolet Unified School District, which serves Glendale, Fox Point, Bayside, and River Hills. Primary schooling is administered by th ...

. At age 9, Livingston became interested in modeling after traveling with her father on vacation to Los Angeles, California. but according to Livingston, "I took a break when I was younger because it didn't pick up as much. I wanted to have a childhood." After graduating high school, Livingston attended the

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

before dropping out after three semesters and moving to Los Angeles to further her career. She is primarily of African-American ancestry, but also partial German and Indian descent.

Career

Modeling

Livingston began her career as a

runway model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though mo ...

in Los Angeles and New York City. From 2009 to 2011, she appeared in many different magazines and participated in several fashion shows, including

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Rip the Runway ''Rip the Runway'' is an annual fashion show and music show broadcast by BET, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. 2005 The first ''Rip the Runway'' show was hosted by Fonzworth Bentley and Eva Pigford. 2006 The 2006 ''Rip the Runw ...

''America's Next Top Model''

In 2012, Livingston first came into the public eye as a participant in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

program '' America's Next Top Model: British Invasion''. She was noted for her tattoos and

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...

look. Despite her initial strength in the competition, including two first callouts, Livingston was eliminated in the sixth episode. She became the sixth eliminated overall in her first-ever bottom two appearance which Kyle Gober survived.

Acting

Livingston portrayed Hakeem's best friend Chicken on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's ''

''. In 2009, Livingston appeared in the award-winning film '' Precious''. In 2010, she went on to appear on the television shows ''

The Real Housewives of New York City ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' (abbreviated ''RHONY'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 4, 2008. Developed as the second installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired thirteen ...

'' and '' The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty''. After her stint on

Top Model ''Top Model,'' also called ''Next Top Model,'' is a fashion-themed reality television show format produced in many countries throughout the world and seen in over 120 countries producing over 200 seasons, which are referred to as "cycles". T ...

, Livingston acquired a role on the gay television series, DTLA, which airs on

OUTtv OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

and

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

. Working alongside actresses

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

and

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps b ...

, Livingston plays the role of Ricki, who is Griffith's girlfriend on the show. Of her

breakthrough role A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the film industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of critical recognition. The si ...

, Livingston says, "Being a rookie with all-stars made me a little nervous, but I don't think I showed it." Livingston starred in a leading role in the romantic comedy ''Almost Amazing'' by director Justin Price ('' The Cloth'').

Music

Livingston started out as an extra in several music videos prior to her solo career as well as before competing on America's Next Top Model, including

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

's "

Motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

" and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

's "

Moment 4 Life "Moment 4 Life" is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It serves as the fourth single from Minaj's debut studio album ''Pink Friday'' (2010). The song was produced by T-Minus and written ...

". Her debut single "Morning Guarantee" was released in December 2012. On August 31, 2014, Livingston released her debut EP on SoundCloud titled ''HipPopMelodicPoetry''. Her single "We Hot" was released in 2015.

Filmography

Film

* '' Precious'' (2009)

Television

* ''

'' (2010) * '' The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty'' (2010) * '' America's Next Top Model: British Invasion'' (2012) * '' DTLA'' (2012) * ''

'' (2015) * ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'' (2015) as Intern * ''

The Purge ''The Purge'' is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, which are written and in some cases also d ...

'' (2018) as Bracka

Discography

Extended plays

* ''HipPopMelodicPoetry'' (2014)

Singles

* 2012: ''Morning Guarantee'' * 2015: ''We Hot''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, AzMarie 1986 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Louisiana Actresses from Milwaukee African-American actresses African-American female models American female models African-American models America's Next Top Model contestants American film actresses American people of German descent American people of Indian descent American television actresses American lesbian actresses American lesbian musicians American LGBT models Lesbian models LGBT African Americans LGBT people from California LGBT people from Louisiana LGBT people from Wisconsin Musicians from Louisiana Musicians from Wisconsin Midwest hip hop musicians University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American LGBT people African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians Androgynous people